Dachshund: origin, temperament and health problems

Also known as sausage dogs, they are officially the breed of dogs Dachshund, also called Teckel. The nickname of the dachshund is given by the particular shape of his body; elongated and with short legs. This characteristic is due to a mutation known as achondroplasia or bassetism, more commonly known as dwarfism. In addition to the sausage dogs, the Basset Hounds are also classified in this way.

Origin of the dachshund

The sausage dogs originated in Germany. The first standard of the race dates from 1888, although there a was consistency of the Dachshund in previous years' exhibitions in England.
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901) loved the breed. It is said that on one occasion she said: "Nothing will transform a man's home into a castle more quickly and effectively than a Dachshund."

Thanks to the Queen, the popularity of the dachshund grew in the United Kingdom.

Morphology of dachshund

The Dachshund or Teckel have elongated and low form; elongated nose and hanging ears. His main feature is his short legs. It is precisely this characteristic that allows them to enter burrows and makes them good hunting dogs.

The FCI acknowledges 3 varieties of Dachshund: standard, rabbit hunt teckel, and mini sausage dog. All three may have long, short, or hard hair.

The standard sausage is between 6 and 9kg in weight, while the mini or dwarf sausage does not exceed 4kg. There are no toy dachshunds, although the Kaninchen (for rabbit hunting) is even smaller than the mini sausage dog, and usually does not exceed 3.5kg.

In general, sausage dogs lose very few hair, which combined with their small size has made them become popular as companion dogs.

However, they are hardheaded dogs and sometimes they are not easy to educate because of their stubbornness. Even if you have a dachshund, you will know that he is also very intelligent and that he learns very fast. When they want!

Like any hunting dog, the dachshund is also a dog with lots of energy, and despite his small size he needs to exercise a lot.

Health problems of sausage dogs

Precisely his characteristic physiognomy makes the sausage dogs have problems in the spine, because the spine is very long. Therefore it is not recommended for them to be overweight, or to jump or climb heights. Despite this, they are very agile dogs.

If you have a dachshund and you live in an apartment or house with many stairs, it is recommended that you take him in your arms to go up and down. You should also not tell him to stand on the hind legs. It may be funny, but sausage dogs suffer from spinal problems, and that position only accentuates them.